Wednesday, December 29, 2010

I hope everyone had a great holiday! I'm actually writing this last week, since I knew I wouldn't be able to post it this week, so I actually haven't had Christmas yet. LOL, I'm sure it was great. I'll share what I got when I'm back home and have time to blog. :)

This will be short, but I wanted to share something with you. By now, I hope these are finished, but since you wouldn't have been able to see them in their WIP state, I thought I would share.

The colors of both pictures are going to kind of suck. Today is the first day it hasn't rained in a week, but the sun still doesn't want to come out. Anyway, this is a pretty green Sage. My husband is HUGE into tiki, so when I saw this pattern, I knew I had to plop down the money to get the pattern. I hoped to finish it by Christmas, but that probably didn't happen. Anyway, at least I have a start and will be giving it to him in whatever state it is in before completing it. It will go as a set along with the daiquiri one I made. If anyone knows of any other tiki themed knitting or crochet patterns out there, let me know. There aren't that many on Ravelry.

This was a skein of cotton I ordered during Cyber Monday from Joann's. I had no clue what it would look like, but in the picture it looked fun and I was right! I wasn't going to start anything new, but I wanted to knit the other night (actually it was last week) and my husband was home so I couldn't work on the tiki bar cloth. This is the pattern I'm using. It's easy, yet I learned something new, so that's cool. I have no clue what I'll do with it after, probably use it in the kitchen. This is the first project I've used with the nickel plated needles from my Knit Pick's try me pack. I like them, but not a huge fan of how slippery they are. I think, after trying all three of their needles, the Harmony wood ones win out. Each one has a good quality, but I think across the board, the Harmonys have decent slide, grip and have nice points to them.

For those that are new to WIPW, to share your WIPW post with us, just fill out the Mr. Linky below. Despite it saying you must comment, don't feel as if you do. That is something Mr. Linky automatically adds. I just ask you to check out a few of the links posted to see what everyone else is working on and comment there if you can. Everyone loves feedback and a little encouragement on their projects! Also, please link back to this post in your post to get the word out! The more the merrier!

Monday, December 27, 2010

As I've mentioned a few times leading up to today, I will be partaking in a yarn diet with Alea and whoever would like to join us. We are doing this because over the past six months or so, we've bought yarn on whims (or sometimes with certain projects in mind) and have a lot of it to go around. I think we both realized this needed to happen when each month of Flash Your Stash, our stashes seemed to double.

Without further ad0, the rules and exceptions of our yarn diet:

Length of time: January 1st-June 1st or until over half of your stash is gone. Obviously it's pretty hard to use every single little piece of yarn in each skein/ball/cake/hank, so if it's down to the point you can find much to do with it, then that is considered finished.

What may be purchased in that time: During the yarn diet, the participant is allowed to buy yarn 5 times. At each purchase, you may spend or buy however much you want. This includes LYS, box stores and even online shopping (basically any yarn purchases). You may also still buy as part of a swap and/or gift. Also, if you short less than half the skeins to finish a project (let's say you're making a scarf and you run short of yarn by 1 skein) you are able to purchase JUST that ONE item and it won't count against you.

Punishment: For each time you go past the 5 given times you may purchase yarn during January 1-June 1, you will have another month added to the yarn diet, which will not include another chance to buy yarn for that month.

To participate: Just comment on this post (or the one I will be doing at the beginning of the year) to let us know you're joining us. Then, take pictures of all of your yarn and count how many skeins you have. I know some people have way too much to count it all, so if that's the case, keep track of how many bags/bins etc you have it in and gauge that way. Then, sometime in the first week of January, post on your blog all the pictures. That way, we can document the stash as time goes on. I will have a Mr Linky attached to my yarn diet posts where you can post new links to new pictures as the months go on.

Feel free to use the button (thanks to Alea for making this for us!) at the top of this post for your Yarn Diet posts and/or the one in the sidebar (a smaller version).

This is supposed to be fun, so don't get stressed over it. It will be a breath of fresh air using yarn that has been sitting waiting to be used for months or maybe even years. I know I can't wait to get rid of some of it, and even find unique projects to make. Just think how refreshing it will be come June 1st when you can replace the yarn you used with even more yarn!

If you have any comments or questions, please let me know in the comments section! I'll be happy to answer them.

I look forward to posting my first official yarn diet post in the first week of January, but before then, I'm heading to a LYS!

Friday, December 24, 2010

Happy Christmas Eve!!! Soo excited! I hope you all finished the gifts that were last minute. I LOVE Christmas, and love giving presents. I think that's the best part, to watch people open things that I've bought/made for them. It's so rewarding. This year it will be even more so, because of all the hard work I put into each gift, though that makes me a little more nervous!

Next week, I will have WIPW posted, as well as FO Friday, but will only be participating in WIPW. I will be traveling and hope to have a chance to stop at a few yarn stores and have a little time to knit/crochet while I'm away. I will also have a post scheduled with the details of the yarn diet I will partaking in starting January 1st. I will have a follow up post on January 2nd or 3rd with pictures to show my stash as a way to document it at the start. Hope you have a chance to stop by and check it out!

Now onto FO Friday.

I have quite a few projects to share, thankfully! I wasn't able to finish everything of course, due to being sick, but at least everyone who needed a gift on Christmas, had one.

This is the love bug/lady bug I mentioned on Wednesday. I made it for my little niece. My sister loves ladybugs so I think it will be a hit, though I hope they will let her play with it a little. It took me no time at all, as I made it in a few hours. I think the best way to go was I assembled as I went instead of making all the pieces and then having to put it together. I hate that part!

The pattern was this, but instead of the whole kit and kaboodle, I decided to just make one of the bugs. Because of that, I increased the size of the hook to make it a little larger.

I've been working on this way too long, but I like how it turned out, despite my little mistake in the stem of the glass. It's funny how this turned out compared to the dragonfly. It's knitted a little looser, so it doesn't curl as much as the dragonfly. On the other than, this pattern, along with the colorway doesn't lend itself to it being very double-sided. Here's a link to the pattern.

Finished. There is a weird bump in it because I have had to fold it up to hide it from my husband!

Last you saw this purse, it was almost finished but needed the final touches, the lining and the ribbon. I wanted to finish it for last FO Friday, but unfortunately with being sick, I just got around to it on Wednesday of this week. I'm pretty happy with it. If I had time, I think I would make the lining inside a little smaller so that there isn't any wrinkling at the top where it's sewn in. I hope my sister likes it, because I worked hard on it and like it myself. I have one more of these purses to make soon, a present for my sister-in-law.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Wow, WIPW 20, huh? I seem to say this every week, but I can't believe we've done that many of these things.

So, I'm back from the living dead. Seriously, it's like I could have been an extra on The Walking Dead. My week started not how I would have expected, or wanted, with a trip to the ER. Yeah, not cool. I had pneumonia about 3 1/2 years ago, so I was afraid that my sickness was turning into it once more. I guess once you have a certain kind of pneumonia, it makes a pretty high chance you'll get it again. Umm, YAY? Yeah, probably not. Anyway, I was up at 1:30 AM on Sunday night/Monday morning and come sunrise, I knew that I would be making a trip to the doctor. My primary physician couldn't see me until 2:45 so I knew that that only meant one thing. I was on my way to the ER. Luckily, after an IV, urine sample, breathing treatment and x-rays, I'm happy to report I DON'T have pneumonia again. YAY for real this time! Instead, I have a bad bronchial infection that also did not play kindly with my asthma. Once we picked up my prescribed meds and I got almost a full night's sleep, I'm on the mend. I actually feel HUMAN again and am going to try and venture outside today. I haven't been outside (not counting the ER) since the Sunday before last. Needless to say, I'm feeling a little cramped at home.

Luckily, the weather is perfect for being house-bound. It hasn't stopped raining since Friday and in the last 24 hours has been a downpour. My pour plants are overflowing, being being able to drain fast enough. Check out the above picture at the disaster that is my back patio right now. See all the standing water in the orange tree to the left and the pond in the background is being pelted so hard, it's white? Crazy.

Lastly, I just wanted to say a huge thank you to those who wished me well. I was finally able to sit down and look at all of your wonderful WIPW and FOF posts from last week. Amazing work!

Ok, back to craftiness. Sorry for all my rambling. Not blogging (or really talking to anyone) for a few days has me chatty. As you can imagine, I haven't gotten much crafting done unfortunately. I did however finish an amigurumi this weekend for a Christmas present for my littlest niece. I won't share it with you since I finished it (in a night!), so it will have to wait until FO Friday!

Also waiting for FO Friday is the bar cloth I made for Christmas. I hope to finish it today, so I figured I wouldn't share it again until it was complete.

Now for what I am working on at the moment!

As you may remember, I made my MiL this dog amigurumi to represent hers that passed away this year. She also had another dog pass away (the problem with having pets that are the same age), a Corgi like mine. :) I wanted to make both for her, so I just started the corgi. I was going to make the pattern myself, but since I am not feel up to it, I decided to just go ahead and buy it. This is actually the first pattern I've ever bought (other than books and magazines of course), but I've heard great things about PlanetJune's stuff and it is for a gift! Here (Rav link) is what I'm making. So far, in the picture above, it's just the top of the head. Luckily, I won't be sending this out before Christmas (as originally planned) so I have a little more time on it.

If you're like me and trying to quickly finish gifts, I know you can do it! Good luck!

For those that are new to WIPW, to share your WIPW post with us, just fill out the Mr. Linky below. Despite it saying you must comment, don't feel as if you do. That is something Mr. Linky automatically adds. I just ask you to check out a few of the links posted to see what everyone else is working on and comment there if you can. Everyone loves feedback and a little encouragement on their projects! Also, please link back to this post in your post to get the word out! The more the merrier!

Friday, December 17, 2010

First off, sorry to those I have yet to visit/comment on their WIPW post. I've been super sick since Wednesday morning/afternoon and this is the first time I've been online since. I hope to comment on all of them today (Friday) if I'm feeling better.

Also, due to being so sick, I wasn't able to work on anything crafty. That means everything sits as it did on Wednesday. I'm afraid I've run out of time on my Christmas gifts. I have to get better soon, or I'll be running to the stores to buy a few gifts. I hope I don't have to, but we'll see. What a perfect time to get the flu. :(

I hope everyone had a great week and will have an even better weekend. Please feel free to share your FOs as usual.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

I'm going to keep this pretty short, as I've come down with the flu. :( I was on such a roll, had so much energy and then BOOM. I got sick on Monday afternoon. Definitely no fun. I hope you're all having a great week.

Here are this week's WIPs:

Almost done! When I'm feeling better, I need to just sew the lining together and then hand sew it in the purse. I also need to add the ribbon decoration to the front. I hope to get better pictures then, for FO Friday. :)

I made a boo boo where the stem of the glass and the main portion meet, but didn't realize until I was way far into it. I don't think the recipient will mind, so I just left it. Other than that, I'm really happy with this and really like the border for it. I also am loving the subtle colors in the cream yarn! Anyway, this is the pattern I'm using.

Despite having so much to do still for Christmas, I couldn't wait to start these. As I mentioned here, I decided to make the Waffle Fingerless Gloves. As you can see, I have finished one, and am about to start on the second. I'm afraid it will be a little small (I still have to seam it) but hope it will stretch. I used Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool that I dyed and LOVE the way the colors turned out. I'm stoked!

For those that are new to WIPW, to share your WIPW post with us, just fill out the Mr. Linky below. Despite it saying you must comment, don't feel as if you do. That is something Mr. Linky automatically adds. I just ask you to check out a few of the links posted to see what everyone else is working on and comment there if you can. Everyone loves feedback and a little encouragement on their projects! Also, please link back to this post in your post to get the word out! The more the merrier!

Monday, December 13, 2010

First off, I wanted to thank everyone for the amazing suggestions/ideas on what to work on for my next knitting project. You are all awesome and I knew you'd come through for me. I didn't want you to have to wait holding your breath (because really, who isn't? I mean, isn't the project I pick like the biggest thing ever...umm, yeah, I know. No one probably cares. LOL) until Wednesday, so I thought I would share with you what I decided.

I decided to work on something flat before jumping into the in the round train. Autumngeisha suggested the Waffle Stitch Fingerless Gloves. After looking at the pattern, I thought it was the perfect project to move onto. It was a new stitch that I had yet to use, but a quick and easy project. I also knew just the yarn to use. I decided to go with my kettle dyed (by me) Lion Brand Fisherman's wool that you can see here. Since it was a huge skein split up, I had no clue how much I had, but once I wound it into a ball, I realized that I would have enough for at least a pair of the fingerless gloves. Perfect! I started right away, despite Christmas looming (I know, how dumb can I be?). I'm happy to report, it's going great and I should be finished with the first gloves today! I don't want to share a picture, since WIPW is right around the corner, so you'll just have to wait. :p

That all being said, my next knitting project will be a hat in the round and I can't wait! I think I'll be using this pattern, because it looks pretty simple, but still cute. It might be the perfect project for this yarn or this one. What do you think?

On to my weekend fun!

My neighbor asked me to watch her cat this week, so she showed me where everything is, etc. When walking to the door, I saw a set of knitting needles. I couldn't believe it! I asked if she knit, and she pulled me back inside and showed me what she's working on (about three different projects), as well as ones she had recently finished. I had NO clue she knit, not at all. You could imagine my surprise! She was showing me a few different yarns (some very expensive...around $32 a skein) and it was all beautiful. She told me I could ask her any questions and she could help me out. I'm so excited to have someone close by that can help when needed. She didn't know about Ravelry, so I was sure to tell her about it and make sure she signed up.

Lastly, I was able to go to a LYS in a town about an hour and a half away from where I live. My husband needed to pick up a piece he had framed there (shipping was going to be insanely expensive, so it was much easier to make a trip out of it) and we decided to make it a day. We weren't able to leave yesterday until about 2 hours before the LYS closed, so we would definitely be cutting it close. Speaking of which, why do LYS close SO early on Sundays, if they're open at all? This one closed at 4pm, which I found a little odd, but then another one I also looked up in the area closed at the same time. If I owned a shop like that, I would stay open until at least 5pm, especially since they open at noon. So odd. Anyway, we made it in time, despite getting a little lost.

Since I'll be starting a yarn diet January 1st (more details to come in a later post), I had an idea of what I wanted to buy. I realized recently I don't have much chunky yarn, so to make sure I had enough to do a simple projects which may call for it, I wanted at least 2 skeins of something in that weight. I have also been dying to try Malabrigo, and from the store's website, I knew they sold it. Sure enough, not only did they carry Malabrigo, they carried Malabrigo Chunky! It fit both categories I was looking for in one swoop. Here is the colorway I chose. Isn't it pretty?

I continued to wander the store. I didn't want to buy too much, as I'm trying not to buy things for myself right now. Also, we'll be going on a trip up the coast of California between Christmas and New Year's and I knew we would be stopping at a few shops along the way. I was content with my Malabrigo Chunky...and then I saw this. Cascade Eco Duo. OH. MY. GOD. Now, I previously didn't think I really liked Cascade. I'd never used it, but the only lines I had come in contact with were crazy scratchy and I would never been able to use (like Cascade 220). This was different...WAY DIFFERENT. I couldn't stop hugging and petting it. I was instantly in love. My husband could see the gleam in my eye, and knew we would be coming home with at least one skein. Now, normally, when it's an impulse buy like this one, I buy one skein and call it good. But wait! What if I wanted to do a larger project with it, and I AM going on a yarn diet in about 2 weeks. What's another skein going to hurt, other than my bank account? You guessed it...I came home with 2 skeins of it. Here it is:

Amazing, no? I mean, it doesn't look like much, but if you could only feel it. I wish I could just sleep with it. LOL I think this is the first yarn I've felt this way. It's 70% undyed baby alpaca and 30% undyed Merino. Can't you just imagine the heavenly feel of it? Have any of you worked with it yet? The lady at the store mentioned it's one of Cascade's newer lines. I see a lot of this yarn in my future, and in fact, I think it's soft enough that once I start making sweaters, I would be able to wear it without any discomfort. I think this yarn will be calling my name until I made something from it.

Friday, December 10, 2010

First off, you may have noticed it on the sidebar this week (or above in this post), Stacey was kind enough to make us a FO Friday button as well! Please be sure to thank her when you get the chance. Just like the WIPW one, please feel free to use it on your sidebar or posts.

Friday is upon us and I think for the first time I have more than one FO (though very small). Exciting! I hope that in the next few weeks, each FO Friday will have a few items to share because that will mean that I finished, or at least got close to finishing my Christmas crochet/knitting.

Here's what I have to share!

We got our Christmas tree on Saturday. I am so excited because I think this is the best tree I've ever had. It's so rich, full and it smells amazing. I thought I would share a picture of the whole tree as well, just for fun. Since we got the tree, I wanted to make a little something for it. The pattern I think calls for acrylic, but I decided to use cotton since it would be next to warm lights and I didn't want any melting action to happen. I think the shape would have been better in acrylic, but oh well. I still think it's really cute. He's happy hanging there with the rest of our ornaments.

Materials used:

5.00 mm (H) hookLily Sugar'n Cream (yellow)Yarn needle

And on to the FO I am most proud of, or at least since the Owl Bag. This washcloth (Dragonfly Washcloth) is the first thing I have officially knitted!!! I'm really happy with how tight my stitches are, as well as even. The needles I used (Knit Picks Harmony needles) were heaven. I want a whole set of them! They made knitting so much easier than my other needles when I was doing my first swatch or when I attempted the scarf using Clover ones. I'm not exactly sure what to do with it now, but it's awesome. Since it's my first ever knitted item, I feel weird using it. LOL Anyway, I'm proud of it to say the least. I know to all of you who knit sweaters, it's probably silly, but there you go. :)

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Since most of you who regularly read this blog are knitters, I thought it would be a great idea to get your opinion on what my next knitting project should be. I have a few washcloths/dishcloths/bar cloths to make, but then wanted to take the next step up.

I've realized recently when trying to find a place for all my yarn (remember my beautiful yarn chest? Yep, it's full. A Flash Your Stash post should be coming soon) that I have bought some amazing yarns at the LYS I've visited, but have yet to use any of it. I think I've avoided it because I don't want to "screw it up", which is silly, but there you go. I'd love to try and knit something with some of it, but I'm not quite sure what. So, I'm calling upon all of you to help!

Here's what I have to work with, or are my requirements:

I want to work with needles that I have. Since it's Christmas coming up, I'm trying not to buy anything for myself this month. So far, so good. Here are the sizes/type that I currently own (I'd love to try my other KnitPicks ones since I've used the Harmony):

Obviously, a pattern that isn't too hard, but I would like one where I could learn something new knitting wise with it. So far, I've only made dishcloths, and started that scarf that I frogged.

I'd like the pattern to be free.

I'd like to use some of my LYS or Knit Picks yarn. You can find a lot of it listed here in my Stash on Ravelry. Obviously, I can mix and match, especially the ones that are the same brand, but different colorway.

So, what do you all think? Any pattern suggestions that would be a good idea? Please leave your suggestions in the comments if you can! Thanks for all your help!

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Wednesday, again. Can you believe it?? It is already the 8th of this month, and that has me pretty much hyperventilating. Yikes! Luckily, to take off some of the sting, I was able to order a few bought gifts online yesterday. Now I just need to worry if they will make it here in time. As far as the crochet/knitting presents are concerned, I'm running out of time. There are a few that can be mailed a day or two late, so I am putting those on the back burner. We'll see how it goes. My days are pretty much devoted to crocheting/knitting. Needless to say, I'm getting a LOT of TV time in.

Just a side note, I plan to have a few fun things happening on the blog coming up, including a yarn giveaway, a CAL/KAL (patterns haven't been chosen yet, so if you have any suggests please let me know!) and a yarn diet challenge for the new year (gasp!). So stay tuned for that!

As far as WIPs are concerned, this is what I have on my plate.

The dragonfly washcloth turned out sooo great (will share pictures on FO Friday), that I wanted to do another one. This will be a gift and will look like this. I don't want to say too much about it, but I hope to finish it quickly so that I can get to another one and make them a little set. We'll see. This wasn't originally in my holiday gift making plans, so I can't add too many items at this point or I will simply run out of time...or just not sleep leading up to the holiday.

Sorry for the picture, it's hard to get a good picture of the black yarn doubled over.

I've been dreading making this. I started way back when and then stopped and ripped it out. I love the way that the purse looks in the end, and use the one I made as a test purse a bit! The problem is, the pattern isn't written very clearly and so I have to look at a breakdown someone did on Ravelry with pictures (thank god for that person). Once I get out of the flow of making it, I can't really restart again for some reason. So, here I am starting it again. I have to make two more by Christmas. This one (obviously black) is going to be the worst because it's so hard to work with black, IMO. The next one I think I'm going to do a tan color, so that should go much faster. Luckily, when I stop whining about it and just do it, I'll be fine. It's a fast pattern to do once you get into the flow of things.

For those that are new to WIPW, to share your WIPW post with us, just fill out the Mr. Linky below. Despite it saying you must comment, don't feel as if you do. That is something Mr. Linky automatically adds. I just ask you to check out a few of the links posted to see what everyone else is working on and comment there if you can. Everyone loves feedback and a little encouragement on their projects! Also, please link back to this post in your post to get the word out! The more the merrier!

Friday, December 3, 2010

It's good to be back in the FO game. It seems like it's been awhile, though I just missed the last one. I hope to have many projects finished in the next few weeks (if not, I need to do some serious thinking about Christmas gifts!), but am trying not to put too much pressure on myself. I have a lot going on, despite NaNoWriMo being over.

Anyway, on to FO Friday.

As you all know, I've been working on the market bag as a Christmas gift. It was part of two WIPWs and here are those pictures as it progressed.

Obviously not very exciting since it is basically just a circle, but there you go. I used this pattern, yet changed it a bit. I added two more rows of increase to make the bag larger (and my gauge was a little small), as well as a few more rows of basic rows as I went up the sides of the bag and also added a few more decrease rows as I wanted the opening a little smaller since I increased at the bottom a little. I also kept decreasing the top until I got the correct number of dc to match the pattern when working on the handles. My only regret is not making the handles bigger. I didn't really realize how little it was until sewing the two together. Because of that, i didn't do the edging since it would make them even smaller (hole wise).

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

First off, I'm sorry that I've been quiet since last WIPW. It's been a crazy week with Thanksgiving, being gone for four full days and the end of NaNoWriMo...which leads me to something I'd like to share. I know it's not craft related, but I can't help myself.

That's right, I hit 50,000 words. It's not the first time I've "won" NaNo. Actually, just the opposite. Each time I attempt it, I hit 50k, but this year felt better than most, with also trying to work on a lot of crochet Christmas presents and going away for the holiday, things got a little hectic. In fact, I didn't hit my word count goal until yesterday morning! Now back to craftiness.

I had a great time up in Los Angeles visiting family. I bought a lot of good yarn, as well as a few books, but I'll share them in another post! I hope everyone had a fabulous holiday in the US, and for those of you who participated in FO Friday this past week, I promise I'll get to commenting on your posts now that my life isn't all about furiously typing on my NaNo project.

I don't have anything new to share, but I did make some progress on the two projects from last week:

I was able to work on the market bag on the way to and from Los Angeles, thanks to my husband who drove both ways! I really like the way it's coming out. My gauge seemed a little small, so I added two extra rows of increase before starting my way up the sides of the bag. This is going to be a great size for supermarket and farmer's market shopping! I can't wait to give it to the recipient! I hope to finish this week, so I better get hooking!

I wasn't able to work on my washcloth much more, but you can see I've just started to hit the point of where the first (or second, depending on how you look at it) set of wings starts for the dragonfly washcloth. I'm still super stoked about the way it's coming out and LOVE knitting. I actually bought more cotton so that I can make more of these. They're fun, quick projects (when you actually have time to knit) and are actually useable! I hope to finish this one soon too, but the market bag takes precedence since it's a Christmas gift and the washcloth is just for fun.

For those that are new to WIPW, to share your WIPW post with us, just fill out the Mr. Linky below. Despite it saying you must comment, don't feel as if you do. That is something Mr. Linky automatically adds. I just ask you to check out a few of the links posted to see what everyone else is working on and comment there if you can. Everyone loves feedback and a little encouragement on their projects! Also, please link back to this post in your post to get the word out! The more the merrier!

About Me

I started crocheting in December '09 and creating amigurumi around March of '10. I've taken on knitting, starting in November of '10. I'm seriously addicted to buying yarn and all things crochet. I'm the owner of the indie dyed yarn company, Candy Skein